{"product_id":"taste-whats-rhythm","title":"Taste What's Rhythm","description":"\u003cp\u003eManchester's Avant-Jazzy-Funk outfit Swamp Children were enviably eclectic and Taste What's\nRhythm is their mini masterpiece. Flitting gracefully through a feast of genres with consummate ease,\nthe band were almost indefinable and, accordingly, nigh-on impossible to market. So whilst this cult\nEP, originally out in 1982 on Factory Benelux, remains in demand for those in the know, it has also\nglided under the radar of many otherwise clued-up heads for over 40 years. If you don't know, get to\nknow...\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWorking directly with James Nice, custodian of Factory Benelux, means that the audio for this re-\nissue of the classic EP comes from the original tapes. Cut at 45 RPM and released in the house Be\nWith disco sleeve, we’ve made sure this record is well up to the job of having a permanent place in\nevery DJ’s bag. As far as we’re concerned, this is essential stuff.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Taste What's Rhythm EP was originally released in 1982 on Factory Benelux (an informal\npartnership between the legendary Manchester-based Factory Records and Belgium-based Les\nDisques du Crépuscule). With it's kaleidoscopic brightness, silky panache and superb execution, it\nremains one of the most startling documents of a remarkable time and place.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe EP opens with the oh-so-Balearic title track. \"Taste What's Rhythm\" gently unfolds with a Spanish\nguitar, hazy, drifting vocals and sun-bleached Latin percussion. After this most sumptuous of intros,\nthe tempo is raised, the rhythms grow in complexity as horns jostle amidst the restrained chaos quite\nwonderfully. And then it winds down again. Proper fluctuating rhythms and tempos throughout. I\nguess that was the point - taste the variety!\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You’ve Got Me Beat” is a *perfect* piece of post-punk pop-jazz. A mysterious, after dark jazz-dancer,\nthe aching vocals serve as a touching, tender resignation to love. A guitar hook which seems to\nelegantly reference The Blackbyrds' \"Rock Creek Park\" and a flowing pulse from New York's No\nWave scene. It still sounds so fresh all the years later.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eClosing out this most perfect of EPs, the twisted synths and nimble rhythms of bass-heavy roller\n\"Softly Saying Goodbye\" combine to create a super-slinky gem; Brit-Funk of the highest order.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSwamp Children formed in Manchester in 1980, around core members Ann Quigley (vocals), Tony\nQuigley (bass, metalaphone, percussion), John Kirkham (electric \u0026amp; acoustic guitars, metalaphone,\npercussion), Ceri Evans (keyboards, bass, percussion, background vocals), Cliff Saffer (saxaphone,\nclarine) and Martin Moscrop (drums, percussion, trumpet). They initially practised at a rehearsal\nspace shared with fellow post-punk funkers A Certain Ratio and Joy Division\/New Order. Young and\nrelatively inexperienced upon getting together, the ages of Swamp Children's members ranged from\njust 16 to 19. Talk about the brilliance of youth.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the outset, Swamp Children shared DNA with A Certain Ratio. Martin Moscrop was a founder\nmember of Ratio, while Ann provided artwork for them. Although the close association with ACR led\nsome to assume that Swamp Children were simply a splinter group, the new band pursued a more\novert latin and jazz tinged direction, at the same time adopting a post-punk attitude towards making\nmusic, influenced by the records they were listening to at the time: Miles Davis, Brazilian jazz fusion\nand heavy funk dancefloor sides.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe band made their live debut at Manchester's infamous Beach Club in May 1980. Thanks to a\ndouble-booking blunder another support band turned up and were turned away, having travelled all\nthe way from Dublin for a string of British dates. The name of the unlucky band was U2...\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith arrangements that emphasised Tony Quigley’s darkly-coloured basslines (and Ann Quigley’s\nimpressionistic vocals as another instrument in the mix) Swamp Children possessed an easygoing\ngrace and a bubbling energy which indicated that the band's true strength was as an ensemble. The\nband’s musical sophistication (a fusion of funk, jazz, and bossa nova) would prove to be a strong\ninfluence on later UK acts like Sade. Indeed, Swamp Children themselves later mutated into the more\nknown and acclaimed latin jazz outfit Kalima.\n\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Be With Records","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":50482495848779,"sku":"2014984","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/BEWITH019TWELVE_318b8c01_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727552901","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/products\/taste-whats-rhythm","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}